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Redskins Remove Stadium Statue of Former Owner With Controversial Past

Statue Of Former Redskins Owner Removed From RFK Stadium

A statue commemorating George Preston Marshall, the former owner of the Redskins, has been removed from RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. Marshall founded the franchise as the Boston Braves in 1932. He changed the name to the Redskins the following year when the team shared Fenway Park with the Red Sox. He moved the team to Washington, D.C., in 1937.

Marshall actively resisted efforts to integrate black players into the league, and refused to sign black players. The NAACP organized protests against Marshall in the late 1950s, but he did not back down.

Marshall didn't sign a black player until 1962 and only did so because Interior Secretary Stewart Udall threatened to terminate the franchise's 30-year lease at D.C. Stadium, which was on federal land. D.C. Stadium was later renamed RFK Stadium, and the Redskins played there until 1996.

Marshall owned the team until his death in 1969.

The decision to remove the statue was made by Events DC, which is in charge of RFK Stadium.

"This symbol of a person who didn't believe all men and women were created equal and who actually worked against integration is counter to all that we as people, a city, and nation represent," Max Brown, Chairman, Events DC Board of Directors, and Greg O'Dell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Events DC, said in a statement. "We believe that injustice and inequality of all forms is reprehensible and we are firmly committed to confronting unequal treatment and working together toward healing our city and country."